


Choice

by StallingGem



Category: Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, F/M, Post-Canon, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, its rey's healing time okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:27:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26447056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StallingGem/pseuds/StallingGem
Summary: Rey has a choice in front of her. Either Rey can live the rest of her days the best she can, always knowing something was missing or go back and right the wrongs of before even with the possibility of failure.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	Choice

**Author's Note:**

> Twitter has some quality prompts and [this one](https://twitter.com/maReylo/status/1304535246868828160?s=20) has an awesome manip!
> 
> I wanted Rey to not be completely sad in the 10 years she lives without Ben so she has a relationship with another person. Just wanted to let y'all know.

She is older now. Closer to his age when he was taken from her, she thinks. Rey stands in the inky black void with only the path of white light on either side of her. Memories flash in the gateways--and moments of what could have been. The one she stands in front of now is the moment she first saw him--the real  _ him-- _ the face of a young man and not a savage monster. 

She was so scared as he knelt in front of her all those years ago. She should have never loved him--not that she did at that moment--but it did change everything. Every moment after he showed his face to her was heartbreak, excitement, understanding, and  _ home. _

__ Ben’s final words were a painful truth and a  _ lie _ . He would always be with her. In the beginning, she thought he would show himself as a spirit as Luke and Leia had. He never did. He was only with her in her memories. His image never faded. That’s what hurt the most. For a time it angered her. She never spoke about him to anyone. She wished she stayed on Jakku sometimes. Her friends were a comfort when the sun shone, but as soon as night came she was alone. Rey was nursing a wound she knew deep down that would never truly heal.

Her anger simmered down after a few years. She was so tired of feeling alone. Rey told Rose and Finn what happened on Exegol. Rose accepted her story with an open heart and Finn--well Finn accepted her admission the best he could. She did hide her bond with the late Supreme Leader for a year. Many people died during that time. Rey didn’t speak about Ben again after that.

More years pass and she has read the Jedi texts cover to cover several times. She knows more about the Force and very little about the Jedi. She doesn’t have any desire to know about the Jedi or the Sith.  _ Let the past die _ . 

The New Republic honored her as the Last Jedi and wanted to give her resources to restart the order. She declined. She has no desire to be a teacher--or a hero. 

Rey traveled all across the galaxy. She goes to all the planets covered in green. She travels with Finn and Rose when they have the time, but mostly alone. In her travels, she even met someone. He was tall but not as broad as Ben. He had green eyes and red hair. He even made her laugh. Rey let herself feel good just for a little bit. As before, when the sun shone she felt free, but when the night came so did the emptiness. Rey still dreamt of him--of Ben. She dreamt of what could have been and what happened. She always woke covered in sweat and heaving. It wasn’t fair to the man next to her. And so she left him with kind and guilt-ridden words. In this man’s eternal sweetness, he let her go with a final joke and kind laughter.

More years pass. Rey determined the planets with sand, blue water, and lush green are her favorites, but that day she landed on a planet with rolling planes of sand and grass. She landed her ship on Lothal in an empty field and got out to stretch her legs. The sun was warm and felt nice after being trapped in a ship for a few days. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath she hears a low growl coming from in front of her. She opened her eyes quickly and is face to face with a massive canine creature. 

She froze, not knowing what to do in this situation. The creature stalked closer and sniffed her. Much to Rey’s surprise the creature licked her face and sat back on its haunches. Rey laughed and offered her hand to the creature. It nuzzled its nose into her palm. The creature stood to leave but turned and looked at her expectantly. It wanted her to follow. Rey felt compelled to do so.

The creature led her to an even more isolated location. A flat stone wall with faded paintings loomed in front of her. A feeling pushed her towards it--no fear--just a calling. As she walked through she saw the path in front of her was blocked by a figure. Rey abandoned fear a long time ago and approached the guardian. A Torgruta woman greeted her as if she were an old friend. She walked the path for what felt like hours and thus found herself surrounded by her dreams.

A decision presented itself. The guardian that called herself Ahsoka told her the balance the Force so desperately needed was still missing. Time here in this place--this world between worlds--was a suggestion and some moments can be a second chance. Either Rey can live the rest of her days the best she can, always knowing something was missing  _ or  _ go back and right the wrongs of before even with the possibility of failure. 

She watches as Kylo Ren leaves her past self alone in the interrogation room. Rey musters her courage and steps through. Rey shimmers into existence ten years into the past--her younger self petrified at the sight. Rey sends out a wave of calm through the Force. 

“I want you to listen to what I have to say,” Rey told her younger self.

The girl in the chair nodded.

“There is a chance to change everything and bring that man to where he belongs,” Rey said.

“But he’s a monster! He tore through my head-” Younger Rey shouted.

Rey quieted her younger self. 

“Yes, he would even tell you that himself,” Rey said wistfully. “You’ve seen what’s in his head too. Fear, failure, a loneliness so deep it could kill.”

Younger Rey listened but is not convinced. Rey has to make a decision. The portal behind her is still open.  _ An out _ . Rey knows what she has to do. She released her younger self from the chair and placed her hands onto her younger self’s head. Rey imbues her memories into the young girl from Jakku. Tears well in both of their eyes. 

“One act of compassion can change the course of this story--your story,” Rey said.

“What do I do?” Young Rey asked.

“Reach out and choose your own happiness,” Rey said.

Heavy footsteps echo through the halls leading to the interrogation room. 

An unmasked Kylo Ren enters alone and witnesses the young and older scavenger. Shock and confusion morph his long face. Rey smiles at him. It is the look he had in the snow-covered forest--the one when she took the Skywalker saber. Rey fades away, and so does the portal. She made her choice. 

Rey of Jakku and Kylo Ren stand in a small room staring at each other. Rey gently walks up to the man in black and wraps her arms around his broad body. Kylo is stiff and...and relieved. He wraps his arms around the girl that was once his prisoner. The girl that was also the woman in his dreams. 

“It is you,” he whispered. 

Rey pulls back and takes in his features, trying to reconcile the memories given to her. She  _ knew _ him. She no longer fears him. He is her home. She is his future. There in that moment, they both feel a shift in the Force--like a piece of a puzzle sliding into place. These are the first steps.

**Author's Note:**

> Say hello!
> 
> [Tumblr](https://the-traveler-is-with-me.tumblr.com/)  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/StallingGem)


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